The Royal Bahamas Police Force is the national

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LE ...

of the

Commonwealth of The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the arc ...

. It operates within the portfolio of the Ministry of National Security. The police force was established on 1 March 1840 and is headquartered on East Street Hill in Nassau, Bahamas.

History

From the early eighteenth century to the later part of the nineteenth century, the development of policing generally followed the pattern of

policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

in the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

. During the first half of this period, men were appointed as

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

s to assist in the enforcement of government rules and regulations, and the apprehension of offenders. A night guard was also assigned to protect the town of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

, capital of the

British Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

of the Bahamas, during the night. As early as 1729, there was a constable in

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

. However, his duties seem not to have been as broad and well-defined as the police constable of today. This constable was attached to the local

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

justices of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sam ...

and several other government officials. In 1799, an Act of the General Assembly, now called the

Parliament of the Bahamas The Parliament of the Bahamas is the bicameralism, bicameral national parliament of the The Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up of Queen of the Bahamas, the sovereign (represented by the Governor-General of th ...

, declared that all constables would have the same powers as their counterparts in Great Britain. They were then allowed to arrest on suspicion of crime as opposed to only after the crime had been committed. In 1827, the General Assembly stipulated their mode of appointment. During this period, only one constable was appointed to serve at a time in each district. These appointments were made by the serving magistrate with the assistance of two justices of the peace. As time passed and crime increased, a small number of constables were appointed to serve at the same time. However, they were never organised as a formal police force. Each was responsible to the Magistrate in a particular district. This system of constables has evolved into the currently used district and local constables. During the early years of British colonial rule,

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

made up the majority of the population in the Bahamas. The little policing needed was done by the free population with the help of constables, magistrates, and justices of the peace. Any

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by enslaved people, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of enslaved people have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freed ...

or potential slave rebellion was kept in check by the local detachment of British soldiers and the slave owners. Prior to the abolition of slavery by Act of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

in 1834, there was a system of night patrols in New Providence called the Night Guard. The men forming this guard were not constables, but were also supervised by the local magistrate. Their duties were primarily to protect the homes and businesses of the free population at night. In addition, the

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

was stationed in Nassau to take care of any serious breach of peace throughout The Bahamas. These men were trained soldiers recruited from different ethnic groups in Africa and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

. They lived in

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

in isolation from the populations to ensure their loyalty in the event of local slave rebellions. In addition, their duties also included the protection of the islands from foreign invaders. At that time, the barracks was situated on the site where the Hilton British Colonial Hotel currently stands. The majority of the Family Islands which make up The Bahamas were largely neglected as far as law enforcement was concerned, as crime in these areas was almost non-existent.

Structure

The Royal Bahamas Police Force is headed by the Commissioner of Police, Clayton Fernander, who is supported in his role by one deputy commissioner, and eight assistant commissioners. The Commissioner of Police has command, direction and control of the Force and is the ex-officio Provost Marshall. The headquarters of the police force is located in Nassau, New Providence. The rank structure is similar to that of the United Kingdom's Scotland Yard usage: constable; corporal; sergeant; inspector; assistant superintendent; superintendent; chief superintendent; assistant commissioner; deputy commissioner; and commissioner. There are just over 3,000 members on the force. The Royal Bahamas Police Force is headed by what is known as the 'Senior Executive Leadership Team' or 'SELT'. These officers (ranging from the rank of assistant commissioner to commissioner) are responsible for setting strategic objectives and policies, policing plans, development, and mobilization of the force. The Senior Executive Leadership Team consists of one Commissioner, one deputy commissioner, and eight assistant commissioners. They are: * Clayton Fernander, – Commissioner of Police * Leamond Deleveaux – Deputy Commissioner of Police * Theophilus Cunningham, MBA, BSc, AA – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Grand Bahama & Northern Bahamas District) * Kendal Strachan – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Operations Management & Tactical Support) * Craig Stubbs – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Public Safety & Community Policing Services) * Kirkwood Andrews, MSc, BS - Assistant Commissioner of Police (Corporate Services) * Bernard K. Bonamy Jr. – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Family Islands District) * Dellareece Ferguson – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Human Resources & Training) * Zhivago Dames, MBA, BS – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Information & Communications Technology) * Kenwood Taylor – Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime Management & Criminal Investigations)

Activities

Operation Rapid Strike

Operation Rapid Strike is a project launched on 19 January 2011 at 5:00 pm by Commissioner Ellison Greenslade of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The mandate of this operation is to ''"restore peace and civility to our communities"''. The stated aims of the project is to hunt persons involved in an array of crimes including

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

armed robberies Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the per ...

stabbing A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs from ...

s, break-ins,

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s related charges, etc. The operation is led by senior ranking officers such as superintendents. Other ranks inside the operation include inspectors, supervisory officers and junior officers. Some equipment used by the members of the operation include two thirty-two seat buses provided by the

Government of the Bahamas The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King of the Bahamas. The politics of the Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the Head of Gover ...

References

External links